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Larry Foote will be missed in Pittsburgh
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DETROIT- Larry Foote made his last appearance as a Pittsburgh Steeler a few weeks ago, when he was presented his Super Bowl ring.
And while there are those who will bash his character, Foote not only was a good player, he was never one to shy away from media questions and cherished his time as a member of the black and gold.
"The type of guys in this locker room – it’s our mentality to be tough-willed and that the most physical team is always going to win," Foote said about being a Steeler. " All of the teams in the league don’t take that approach, but we do. We walk out there with that swagger, with the Black and Gold on, but it doesn’t give us an advantage, it’s just that’s who we are.”
But even more important was what he did in Pittsburgh off the field.
He went into the worst sections of Pittsburgh trying to bring hope to youth who were victims of violence.
"They wouldn't listen to anybody," Adrienne Young, who works with families who have lost young people to violence, told Terry Foster of the Detroit News recently of Foote. "Let me tell you, he had them broken down in tears. It was amazing. Larry Foote made such an impact here. People are still calling asking, will he come back. We don't care about Detroit and Pittsburgh. We loved him. I mean he got out in the streets in the worst part of Pittsburgh."
While Foote's contract status after the Super Bowl drew most of the media attention, there was another side to him that very few knew.
According to Foote, he said that he was caught up living the life of a pro football player, and that suddenly God opened his eyes.
"It happened a year and a half ago and God really opened my eyes," Foote told Foster. "He was really disappointed in me. I was caught up in living the life. I was a typical NFL player. I was not as wild as most or getting in trouble. I was just doing as I pleased. I was evaluating things one night and God just said, 'If you aren't going to do what I called you to do, I don't need you.' "
Foote, who was from inner city Detroit, added this too.
"I went to too many funerals," Foote said. "One night, I was just sitting up and feeling really dirty. I didn't even have a foundation set up, and I am wondering what am I doing? I was helping people but I wasn't doing what I was called to do."
It's what made him head to the Garfield section of Pittsburgh and talk to gangs. Now that he is back in his hometown, Foote has no plans of letting up on his mission.
He wants to open a Charter school in Detroit, and find a new home for an Outreach Ministry that is run by his childhood friend.
Yes, Foote went from being a member of a Super Bowl Champions team, to the worst ever in the Lions. But credit him for what he has been trying to accomplish off the field.
In a day and age when things such as a warrant being issued for the arrest of Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Perry for tax evasion and the continuing saga of Brett Farve make headlines, its nice to find players such as Foote giving back.
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